Neighborhood Watch Program

The Program runs October 1 to April 30 each year

What is the Neighborhood Watch Program?
(Information in this section taken from The Best Little Beach in Delaware published by South Bethany Historical Society, 2014)

As a member of the South Bethany Property Owners Association you are eligible to participate in this Neighborhood Watch Program that was formed in 1992. The program was developed as a result of burglaries on a single street in South Bethany. The Program soon expanded to report broken windows, damaged doors and screens, possible break-ins and suspicious findings.
The purpose of the Neighborhood Watch Program is not to do the work of the police. If there are suspicious findings, the volunteers (known also as Walkers) do not enter the home. Their purpose is to support the local police through their eyes and help them watch. They report their findings to the South Bethany Police.
It is a good neighbor program thanks to the many community volunteers that make it work.

How can I participate in the Program?

When you join SBPOA, you will find on your Membership Application a section where you can select if you would like your home to be included in the Neighborhood Watch Program, at no additional cost.
You also will have the options to advise if you would like your home checked from the Street Only, or have a volunteer walk around your property.

Here is what your Neighborhood Watch Walker does for you.

Distributes a Watch-Warning Sign to participating home owners as close to Labor Day weekend as possible.
Informs homeowners to place the sign in a front window of their home, or if the owner is not home, leaves the sign as securely as possible at the home (where it can be found). Walkers will not leave the sign in a mail box.
Periodically (about once a week) walks assignment, checking each house per the home owner's instructions.
The period of coverage is October 1 through April 30.
After extreme cold spells the walker will be on the "lookout" for burst pipes.
Communicates information that may have to be distributed to residents (such as hurricane warnings).

If the walker finds anything wrong, such as:

Broken water pipes, water is coming out of the house or ground, they will notify the South Bethany Police, as the police have the capability to shut off water to your home.
Damage due to weather, the walker will call the Town Hall at 539-3653 or the town police at 539-3996.
A possible break-in or any suspicious findings, e.g., open door, broken window, etc., the walker does not enter the house, but calls South Bethany Police at 539-3996 or Police Emergency at 911